Story 3: The Spread of the Saiyans
by Lanzo
Summary: My third story is still comprised mostly of original characters, and my bending of the rules laid down by DBZ continues. DBZ is the property of Akira Toriyama. The robots are based heavily off of Transformers, the property of Hasbro.
1. Chapter 1: Extracurricular Energy

_**The Spread of the Saiyans**_

"So, we're clear on this?" Rachel asked the man she had scheduled an appointment with. "I will train your militia to be unstoppable killing machines, and in exchange I will lead them into battle against my own foe."

"Deal," the man said, broadly grinning. He had received news about these things called Saiyans, and was ecstatic about the thought of having an entire army of them, especially without paying any money. She would assume command of them for a while, but then again, what foe could she possibly face that would defeat an army of Saiyan warriors? There were stronger Saiyans out there, but his army consisted of hundreds of men. If each became half as powerful as the weakest Saiyan, together they would be unstoppable. He would be proud to lead a holy war with this force of men. He could destroy all of Israel, and when the Americans said nay, he could destroy them as well. It would be tough to call him a terrorist when he was in control of the world. The Middle East would soon be stable, after falling completely under his control.

"Perfect," Rachel told him, also smiling. "Training will begin tomorrow. It will prove very intense at first, but will soon become much easier after the powers of your men are awakened."

_And the best part? The Z Fighters will be totally off guard. This army will smash them into the ground, and then the world will be under my control. This fool won't get much more training than I do, so he won't be much of an obstacle. _

"Okay, now if this doesn't impress you, I don't know what will," Mike said as he held the shot in his hand. He was in the middle of track season, and his specialty was shot put. He wasn't very good at throwing discus, but he was about to throw, as he put it, "hella shot."

He stood in the circle in a thrower's stance - all of his weight was on his right leg, and his left leg was for balance only. He leaned over his shoe, the shot held by his neck, left arm in front of him as though he were reading a watch. He then began to gather energy. An aura began to from around him, slowly growing larger and more intense. The shot itself glowed with energy. Mike jumped back, spun around, and pushed the shot outward, shouting as he did so.

Mike's average throw was only about 35 feet, and the school record was almost twice that. A fifty-foot throw would have been amazing, by any standards. 

Mike's throw soared over the goal posts about 60 feet out, and finally came down on the other side of them. When the obvious rut Mike left was measured, his throw had been 127 feet, 5 inches.

The group of other throwers stared at him in disbelief, and his coach almost wept tears of joy.

"It gets better," Mike said. He picked up a red metal disc, normally reserved for varsity throwers. Right now, he was varsity through and through. He was entitled to the damn thing.

He held his hand above his head, palm facing upward. The disc sat in his hand. It began to spin, and soon lightning jumped across it. It glowed red, and appeared to have saw teeth around its edge made of energy. It levitated about an inch above Mike's hand. He cocked his arm slightly back, then brought it across his body. 

The disc flew past a hill about 300 feet away, and cut a limb off of a tree on that hill. It then disappeared over the horizon line.

Mike's coach actually did a small dance, and was grinning from ear to ear. He put an arm around Mike's shoulder.

"Welch, that was amazing. Now if only you hadn't lost my disc," he said playfully.

"Not to worry, Gruen," Mike said. Coach Gruenewald was referred to, unless you didn't get along with him, as Gruen. Mike promptly pointed his index and middle fingers at his forehead, and concentrated on his hand. He disappeared, and reappeared with the disc he had thrown, devoid of energy and sparkling clean.

Gruen's eyes bulged. "You cleaned it, too?" he said, amazed.

Mike nodded. "Yup, and if you set all the discs and shots down here I'll clean them. Well, not the rubbers. They'll melt." Rubber discs couldn't handle the energy, and the metal ones would be warm to the touch at first. All of the shots were metal, however, so that wouldn't be an issue.

Mike fired a blast at the pile of discs and shots, and the energy enveloped them. A few seconds later, the glow dissipated, leaving behind clean shots and discs. It was all Gruen could do not to sing.

"Whoa, that was sweet," Sadie said to Mike. She was a short sophomore, with blond hair and an impressive figure. One of his fellow throwers was after her, so he knew to be careful.

"Indeed," he said with a smile. "Check it out, my hair is blond too." He then transformed into a Super Saiyan, and she smiled. 

"How did you do that?" Lily, another girl who Mike knew quite well, asked with a smile.

"Like this," he said as he became a Super Saiyan 2. 

"Yeah!" Erik said, imitating rapper Lil Jon. Mike laughed aloud.

"It gets better," he said. He transformed into a Super Saiyan 3, and the girls gasped.

"Ooh, nice hair," Melissa said. Melissa was one of the funniest girls on the track team, and Mike also knew her sister Maria from his math class (and even though he wouldn't say it, he still thought Maria was prettier).

Sarah then transmitted over, and grinned at Mike. "You know," she said to the others, "He's not the only one who can do it." She then transformed into a Super Saiyan, and then a Super Saiyan 2. Her hair collected in tufts like any other Super Saiyan 2 transformation, but then pointed backward and down, giving Sarah's hair a feminine look again. "And right now, I could run the 2-mile in less than a second."

Mike nodded in agreement. "That's an understatement, she's even faster than I am right now."

"She was faster than you before," everyone said at once. Mike couldn't help but smile.

"Good point," he said, not mentioning that 'faster than he is' meant being able to do in the blink of an eye what anyone else would take all day to do. He also neglected to mention that in his final form, he was several times stronger than Sarah, who was the fastest non-fused being on the planet.

After track practice, Mike found Sarah about to head home. "Hey, did I miss something?" Mike asked her before she climbed in the car.

She grinned playfully. "What are you talking about..." she asked, staring into the sky.

Mike grinned back. "Super Saiyan 2? And you didn't tell me?" He put a hand over his chest. "That cuts deep."

Sarah looked at him with mock annoyance. "You know, I am a Super Saiyan 2. You can't lie to me now, I know you're just playing. You're happy that I can do it, and you know it."

Mike shrugged his shoulders, and went Super Saiyan 3. "Now when you do that, I'll really be impressed."

"What, don't you think I can go Super Saiyan 4?" she asked.

Mike smiled again. "If you want," he said. "But, as I recall, any upper body covering is destroyed. And, if my memory serves me, my chest wasn't covered by fur, either. So unless you intend to distract the enemy with a peep show, stick to Super Saiyan 3." He then turned away to try and hide a sadistic smile. "But, I guess, it is a big jump in power. I mean, maybe it's worth it."

Sarah stared at him in shock. "You big pervert!" she shouted.

Mike looked indignant. "Hey! It was your idea!" he said in defense. "I just didn't do much to talk you out of it."

She shook her head as she stepped into the car.

"Alright, men. Wake up!" Rachel shouted into the barracks where her new militia was kept. They couldn't understand a word of English, but that wasn't an issue. Rachel's desires were channeled through her energy to the men, so they understood that now was the time to get out of bed. They quickly did so, and then one spoke. Rachel couldn't understand what he said, but she understood his question all the same: _Why do you wear no robe?_

"Because I am not a Muslim," she responded. When the man came forth to attempt to beat her, every hit he made only solicited a grin from Rachel's face. She never moved an inch, even after the man was exhausted.

"Now get back there," she said. He did as he was told, muttering bitterly as he went.

"Now, we will run. It builds endurance, and your body must be resilient to tolerate the energy."

The men groaned, but did as they were told. Once the sun came up, many were unable to maintain the pace they had. Rachel continued to push.

"That sun up there is about one-fourth as intense as a weak energy blast flowing over you. You must learn to tolerate it, and soon you will."

Rachel stayed true to her word. After a week of meditating and endurance-building exercises, the men would run surrounded by blue energy shields, blocking all harmful rays from the sun. It was similar to being inside a large polarized glass ball.

"Excellent," she told them. "After a few weeks, you will have enough resilience to tolerate the energy needed to fly."

They looked at her in amazement. "We will be able to fly?" one asked, shocked.

"One week ago, would you believe that you could be in the sun with no protective clothing, running for hours, and neither be tired nor have so much as a red spot on your arms?"

They nodded, understanding. If she said they could do it, they could do it.

Rachel smiled evilly, rubbing her hands together. "This army will soon be the downfall of the American Saiyans."

One overheard her. "We will destroy the American Saiyans?" he asked.

She knew this would be an excellent morale booster. "Soon, we will be powerful enough to defeat even the mighty Saiyans defending the cesspool of America! None shall stop us! No selfish tyrants will force their culture, their religion, on you any longer!"

Somewhere along the line, she began to believe what she told the men. She summoned an aura. "The world will be ours to command!" she shouted triumphantly. 

A roar of proud agreement came forth from her soldiers. _Her soldiers. She would be the commander of a literally unbeatable army. No human force can defeat an army that can dodge bullets and catch bombs, and not even Genzo would stand against them as a united front. She ruled the world._

_Now all there was to do was complete their training, and make it final._

"Wow, you must be having fun," Mike said as he walked toward Lily at another track practice. Others were throwing discs into the field, and Lily had picked them up and was walking them back to the circle. Mike began to head out and take a few, and once he did they began to walk back.

"How's being a Saiyan?" she asked. Mike smiled, a bit surprised. He wasn't sure how much anyone knew about the Saiyans. But, he assumed, Lily wasn't exactly the type to plot against people.

"It's actually pretty sweet," he said. "Here, let me get those for you," he said. He pointed two fingers at the discs, and they all began to levitate and spin slowly. Mike turned around, facing he circle, and pointed at the rack with his fingers. The discs all flew back to the rack, and landed in pairs, girl's and boy's separate, old and new separate. 

"Thanks, Welch," Sean said as he grabbed a pair of red discs. Mike smiled a bit. Sean was a good guy, but he sure did think highly of himself. 

He turned around and looked back at Lily. "There, now wasn't that much easier?"

She smiled, and then turned pale. "Watch out!" she shouted, ducking.

"Heads up!" was heard from the circle.

Mike sensed a shift in air, turned, and hit the disc that would have struck him in the head. It exploded on impact, sending shrapnel everywhere. One piece flew at Lily, about to strike her in the chest. She winced, and prepared to die. 

She felt a small poke, and nothing else. She assumed she was dead. She opened her eyes, waiting to see heaven.

All she saw was Mike in front of her, his thumb and forefinger gripping the piece that would have killed Lily. After dropping the piece, he curled up his fist, extended the fingers on his hand and faced his palm upward. The chunks all came to Mike's hand, spinning rapidly. They then came together like a puzzle, spinning faster still, and finally solidified into the disc Sean had originally thrown.

Mike sent it back to the rack, and headed toward the circle, facing it this time.

Mike's group was in the middle of a math investigation, and they were maintaining their usual pace of just a bit behind the others in the class. Mike was doing what he usually did - contributing when he had an epiphany, taking in what Adam, the brains of the outfit, had to say otherwise. 

In the middle of class, Mike's head snapped up. The students weren't sure what was happening, except Alicia, who recognized it immediately. Mike had sensed an unexpected energy source. His usually jovial countenance had shifted instantaneously to stoic focus. He transformed into a Super Saiyan, and took his math book. In five minutes, he used all of his focus, wrote using his newly energized hand making his handwriting more legible and still much faster, and finished the period's worth of work. He then walked to a corner of the room, and lined the corned with energy. He made a similar lining on the outside, creating a small training facility. 

Mike then used it to its fullest extent, instantly becoming a Ganguro Saiyan and unleashing flurries of melee attacks so fast, that if not for the gusts of wind the group would not have had any evidence. Mike had disappeared to the naked eye, and only a nebulous ball of energy remained, twisting and bulging all the time. 

Mike came back into focus, slowing down to the point of being visible again. His hands then became too fast to see once more, and energy blasts flew. On impact with the wall, they exploded, the first one clouding the air slightly. the next one made it worse, and after about ten the chamber was thick with smoke. However, Mike continued to fire them. 

The teacher finally couldn't watch Mike distract her class anymore. She told them all to get to work, and knocked on Mike's chamber wall. The wall extended up and over, curving like a straw to the window. An activated aura blasted the smoke outdoors, and Mike stood in front of the group, shirt completely gone, pants badly torn in several places, and boots with holes in them.

"Welch, put some clothes on," DJ told him. The rest of the group laughed until Mike looked at DJ, white eyes staring at him. He snapped his finger, and with a quick flash his battle gear appeared - black shirt underneath a gray battle vest which was very flexible yet tough enough to literally tolerate artillery fire at point blank range, and blue pants, resembling the look and feel of jeans but as elastic as rubber and also as tough as the vest. He wore a pair of black combat boots, reinforced with energy to be even tougher than the other two articles. A shiny black wristband appeared on each arm, but these reflected more than light. They were designed to deflect energy attacks, at least small ones.

However, even Mike could not make them perfect. The vest weighed about 3000 pounds, the pants a ton, and each boot 1500 pounds. The wristbands were a svelte 500 pounds.

Mike then turned his attention back to his teacher. "What is it?" he asked.

"You can't do that," she said. "It's distracting everyone, and you being half naked when you are done only makes things worse. This is a classroom-"

Mike held up a hand, and the teacher fell silent for a moment. 

"Allow me to explain," Mike said. "Somewhere in the Middle East, an army is being trained to defeat me. I was unable to feel their collective energies before, and now that I do it's frightening. There are hundreds, each capable of doing what I just did - not quite as fast or as intense, but still enough to overthrow any government."

The barrier surrounding Mike faded, then disappeared. "I'm glad you stopped me," he said to his teacher. "Now that I'm thinking again, I can gather the other Saiyans."

Mike then transmitted out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2: Danger, Droids, and Dates

"Okay, now that you have your papers ready, we'll draw names for who will present first." Mack's English teacher was planning to start presentations of a paper written about stereotypes, when Mike transmitted in at full power.

"Hey," he said as he looked at the teacher. He then looked at Mack.

"Come on, we're in trouble."

Mack gave Mike a confident grin, a grin Mike didn't need to see right now. "No, you're the one in trouble. Now get to class," he said jokingly.

"As we speak, an army of Saiyans is training with the sole purpose of killing us. They're already too strong for us to beat alone, and if we don't train real hard real soon, even Genzo might not be enough."

Mack's face changed instantly. He transformed into a Demonic Saiyan, blasting the desk around him to pieces.

The teacher sat him down on the floor right away. "You will not leave this room," she said. "And you," she said, looking at Mike, "will do so right now."

The bell rang, and Mike transmitted back to math class.

"What's going on?" Alicia asked him, concerned. "You've never been this focused. Are you going to be alright?"

Mike turned to her and sighed. "I don't think so," he admitted.

Alicia gasped. "What do you mean? What about Mack, and Genzo? You'll be fine."

Mike looked sad. "It's not that simple, not anymore. There are too many of them."

Alicia stared accusingly at Mike. "Genzo struck Demonheart at Super Saiyan 3 one time, and killed him. One hit. And then he concentrated on another foe. How powerful can these guys possibly be?"

Mike's eyes lit up, and he smiled. He returned to normal, then became a Super Saiyan again. "You're right. None of them can hurt me, so why should I believe that all of them can?"

He picked up Alicia and twirled her around in the hallway. "We're safe! No one has to die!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

"Now, you have all become much stronger," Rachel told the men. "Now, for the most important part. You must pair up with someone of equal strength."

The men did so, and the pairs fell into a line.

"Now, this half, come with me. The other half, go with Ahmad. I have taught him what all of you will now learn."

She then stood, toes pointing outward, bent at the knees. Her hands were extended straight out, and pointing to the right.

"Now, first you take three steps toward your partner. As you do so, turn your hands in a circle above your head to face them. While you do this, say 'few', drawing out the 'ew' sound until in the new position.

Next, flick your hands back in their original direction. As you do this, bring your outside knee across your inside leg, crossing at the thigh. When you do this, say the word 'shun'.

Finally, set your raised leg back on the ground, extending it fully. This leans you toward your partner. Point your index fingers out on each hand, and have your inside arm's finger meet your partner's. Do the same with your outside arm. When you do this, say 'ha!' You will combine into a more powerful being. The numbers will be split, but the power will increase dramatically."

She grinned. _With fusion at my disposal as well, Mike will surely fall. Even Genzo will be destroyed in this way._

Mike wasn't happy.

During the track meet, he had vowed not to use his powers. He was only to do what Mike Welch, the 10th grade kid, was capable of. Mike a.k.a. Lanzo, the mighty Saiyan defender of Earth, was well beyond what was necessary.

However, normal Mike had taken huge strides even without his power. His former shot put personal record of 37 feet 2 inches was shattered by his new record of 43 feet, 7 inches. It wasn't perfect, there was work to do, but Mike was happy.

The discus throw was another matter entirely.

Mike's skill in the discus was barely existent, he had yet to throw over 80 feet. But he was determined to do better today, even without his energy.

After stepping into the circle, Mike prepared to throw. He had his footwork right, but his hands were out of synch. The discus flopped to a pitiful toss of 62 feet, 5 inches. Mike grew angry, but immediately tried to calm himself. _You can't throw angry, _he thought. _Calm is important. _He tried once more, and threw no better - 60 feet, 11 inches.

Mike stalked out of the circle, and headed for the locker room. A hot shower and change of clothes might make him feel better. On his way out, he saw Hannah.

Hannah was a girl Mike had just recently developed a liking for. She was average height, with dark hair, a dark tan, and bright hazel eyes - a sharp contrast that Mike found very attractive. She was also Sarah's best friend, so Mike had someone who would toss in the occasional good word.

He smiled warmly at her, but she simply looked away, seemingly embarrassed. Mike couldn't figure out what the crap that was all about. Did she dislike him and want to avoid him, did she like him and was shy, or was there another reason why she always acted like that? He couldn't piece it together, but the slight feeling of hurt that ensued only made things worse. As Sarah walked up to Hannah, her smile returned. Mike no longer noticed as he floated toward the locker room door. She headed over to see what was wrong, and as she approached him he transformed into a Super Saiyan - an obvious sign that all human life should leave him alone, if it wished to remain human _life._

But Sarah wasn't human life. She was a proud member of the Saiyan race. She promptly transformed as well, and turned Mike around.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" she asked.

Mike looked at the ground. "I had a bad day. Threw terrible at the discus."

Sarah glared at him. "Bull," she said. "Something else is bothering you. What's up?"

Mike looked up at her, fear slightly visible in his eyes. "Fusion," he said.

Sarah looked at him, puzzled. "What about it?" she inquired.

"They know," he said. Sarah's eyes gave away that she understood, but Mike explained anyway. "The terrorists that Rachel is training have learned to fuse. If two fused people fuse with each other, the resulting power would be incredible. If an entire army fused into one being..."

Mike trailed off, but Sarah knew. _If an entire army fused into one being, Genzo would surely fall._

By this time, Hannah saw her transformed friend talking with Mike, and walked over. "What's wrong, Sarah?" she asked, looking innocently up at Sarah.

"I'm going to go train for a while," Mike told Sarah. "Wanna come?"

"No, thanks," she said. "Get Mack, though. We need Genzo to be in top condition."

Mike then transformed his track uniform into battle gear, and transmitted away.

Hannah looked at Sarah, astonished. "You know Genzo?" she asked. "Like, personally? Because I saw his picture on the news and he is so, hot..." Hannah sighed dramatically.

Sarah smiled ironically. "You just saw half of him disappear."

Hannah looked confused. "What does Mike have to do with Genzo?"

Sarah laughed a bit, then headed for the Beaver Dam designated area. "Allow me to explain a little thing called fusion," she said.

Just as Mike was beginning to power up, a blue Mercedes pulled into the driveway. A tall, thin man wearing glasses and a charcoal suit stepped out. He looked awkward, as though even being there was a forced attempt at normalcy.

"Hey, there. I'm John Quarkenbrot, head of special projects at Microsoft." He held out a hand for Mike to shake. Mike quickly slapped his hand, then powered up to begin training.

"I have a device that will help you with your training," he said, shouting over the roar of Mike's energy aura. Mike continued to train.

"This is really great," he insisted. "I have built transforming droids specifically meant to give you a sparring partner. This one is the strongest of the four," he said, pointing to a creature that appeared to be a dinosaur.

"They change into humanoid warriors," John told Mike. "They will provide a whole new edge."

Mike finally shut off his aura, and turned to John. "Look, Mr. Quarkenbrot, I'm busy. And above that, I'm poor. I can't afford that thing."

"Sure, you can," John insisted. "These things will make your training so much more effective. You'll be amazed."

Mike powered up again. "I don't have time for this, Mr. Q," Mike said. "Maybe come back later."

"But-"

Mike had reached his breaking point. He turned to John, powered up and unhappy. "Listen, I'm about to face off against an army of Saiyans. And they can fuse. So I'm not too interested in your dumb robots."

A fire blazed in John's eyes. Who was this damn kid to say he had no time? What, was he too busy training to improve his training? Well, if he was so scared of fusion, John Quarkenbrot would just give him a reason to be.

"Now, this is the important part," Rachel told her army of fused warriors. "Do it again. Find another partner of equal strength, and fuse once more. Do so until this entire army is one, unstoppable being."

The group did so, the powers increasing exponentially each time. Soon, the army had combined into one being, whose power was well beyond what Rachel could hope to control. _Jeez, I hope this guy cooperates,_ she thought to herself.

"With a power such as this, I can fight my holy war alone," the fighter said, his voice ringing out as an entire army's separate voices in perfect synchronization. The effect was ominous and chilling. "Therefore the title of Jihad is fitting."

"Yes!" Rachel shouted. Jihad wasn't even as powerful as Demonheart at Super Saiyan 3 yet, but a little training by each man could quickly make him stronger than Genzo. "The problem is that this fusion only lasts for a half hour. When you include the time it took to fuse, you will only exist for about 20 minutes. Then, you will start to come apart, man by man, until the army is itself again. When this happens, begin training once more. I need to meditate, to prepare for the battle ahead."

Jihad grinned confidently. "No preparations are needed," he said. "I can defeat anyone."

Rachel smiled darkly. "You have no idea," she said.

"Okay, bottom line. Do I have a chance in hell?" Mike asked Sarah after track practice. He wanted to know if it was even worth it to continue trying to get Hannah to like him. If anyone would know, her best friend would.

Sarah smiled apologetically, and shook her head. "I don't think so. She already has a crush. Well," Sarah added, rethinking, "Sorta two crushes."

Mike looked hopelessly confused. "Two?"

Sarah smiled again. "One of them, I can't tell you about. She would be mad if I did. But, she does think Genzo is cute," Sarah added reluctantly.

Mike threw up his hands. "Great," he said, exasperated. "I wanna date her, she half wants to date me, Mack doesn't even know her and she half wants to date him, too."

Sarah looked thoughtful. "You know, I might have an idea."

"Okay, now what's your grand plan here?" Mack asked Sarah, knuckle rolling his Fusion ring.

"I want you and Mike to fuse into Genzo. But, when you do, I want you to think 'submissive'," she said as she pointed at Mack, "and you to think 'dominating'," he said, pointing at Mike. "If I figured it right, You'll still be Genzo, but for Mack it'll be a dreamless sleep as opposed to a dream, and Mike will be in full control."

"So, in a nutshell, you want me to look like Genzo," Mike said. "And Mack will just disappear for a while."

Sarah shrugged. "Yeah, sorta," she said.

Mack flashed a cheesy grin. "Fine, but later on we try this for me," he added.

"Not during a combat," Mike said. "Genzo's mind is stronger and more suited for battle than either of ours. But if you need a date, I'll be happy to take a nap and let you rent out Genzo's body." Mike shrugged. "Assuming Sarah's little scheme even works." The two put on their rings, and Mike set his mindset.

_It's all about control. I am the dominant force in this fusion._

Mack did the same.

_I'll just do what Mike wants. I'll just go with the flow in this fusion._

When their fists touched, Genzo appeared in the room. He instantly pumped his arm.

"Sarah, it worked!" Genzo said. "It's me, Mike! I'm in full control of this body! It's as if Mack isn't even here."

Sarah nodded. "I know. His presence is strong, but it's dormant. Your body is at full, but your brain is all Mike."

Genzo then picked up a cell phone, and tossed it to Sarah. She dialed Hannah's number, and waited for a response.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Hannah."

"_Oh, hi, Sarah! New cell phone?"_

"No, it's not mine."

"_Oh, who's with you?"_

"Hang on a sec."

"It's for you," she said, holding the phone out to Genzo.

"Hey, Hannah?" the dual voice spoke into the phone.

He immediately sensed her surprise. "Oh, my God. Are you serious?" Sarah giggled, overhearing Hannah's stunned reaction.

"Yeah, this is Genzo. Sarah told Mike about your little crush, and I must say, I'm flattered. Mike conned Mack into fusing, and now that I'm back I think I like the idea. Are you doing anything next Friday?"

"Oh, sorry," Hannah's deflated voice responded. "My family is going on a trip." She then quickly recovered. "The week after that, I'm okay."

Genzo smiled. "Alright, make sure you don't blow anyone off. I'm only around when they fuse, I have all the patience in the world."

Sarah then left the room as the two - wait, technically three - people began to talk.


	3. Chapter 3: A Bad Date

"_Whew," Genzo said when the night came. "The stronger you are, the stronger you smell," he said as he hopped into the shower. As he began to wash himself, Sarah transmitted into the basement of Mike's house. She heard the shower running, and knocked on the door. Genzo heard some mumbling, but couldn't understand what Sarah was saying. "Come in here, I can't hear you!" he shouted, plenty loud enough for her to hear._

"_Are you crazy!?" Sarah shouted back. "I'm not walking into a bathroom where a guy is showering!"_

"_There is a curtain, you know," Genzo responded._

"_No, really, I'm fine," Sarah shouted back. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."_

_The water stopped, an aura burst forth, and Sarah heard a swirling motion in the air. Genzo walked out of the room, smelling and looking his best. He wore his own battle gear, but made it very clean looking and new._

_Sarah whistled. "I'm impressed. Maybe Hannah was right. You are kinda cute."_

_Genzo smiled. "Thank you, but it comes with the territory. Try transforming once, and look at yourself in the mirror."_

_Sarah did so, not knowing that the transformation into a Super Saiyan made one not just more buff, but increased one's stereotypical physical attractiveness. However, Genzo was right; her abs were toned perfectly, every part of her body was tightened to absolute perfection, and her breasts and buttocks filled out, making her more curvaceous. Her face had narrowed slightly._

"_Yeah, you're definitely hot when you're a Super Saiyan."_

_Sarah looked at him, slightly intimidated, but played along. "And I wasn't before?" she asked with mock offense._

"_Sure, you were. That's one of the reasons I asked you out in the first place," Genzo replied. Sarah blushed, remembering she wasn't flirting with Genzo, the Saiyan savior of the universe, but with Mike, her ex. She felt very strange. It was then that she realized what Hannah would feel like._

"_I want you to defuse and come back as the actual Genzo," Sarah said._

_Mike looked unhappy. "How come?" he asked._

"_I don't want to lie to Hannah. I told her she was gonna go out with Genzo, not Mike that looks like Genzo."_

_Mike sighed. "Okay," he said as he took off the ring. When Mack reappeared, he looked at Mike. "How did it go?" he asked._

"_It didn't," Mike responded. "Not yet. Sarah made a valid point. We shouldn't deceive Hannah like that. She wants Genzo, and I say we give it to her."_

_Mack smiled. "I thought you wanted to give it to her," he said under his breath._

_Mike smiled as well. "Yeah, but if Genzo nails her, we'll both remember it," he said._

_Mack's face turned stone sober in an act, pretending he'd had a change of heart. "Fine," he said. The two donned the rings, and the real Genzo was formed._

"_Why am I here?" he said. "I don't sense any high power levels."_

_Sarah quickly filled him in on what he had promised to do._

"_Oh, she's not too bad," Genzo said. "Okay, I'll do it."_

"_Hi, I'm Hannah," she said when Genzo transmitted to her home. "I was wondering what was keeping you," she said as she extended her hand._

_She was dressed to kill, in a tight white shirt covered by a blue blouse. She wore form fitting, low cut jeans. She knew Genzo was ephemeral, and wanted to make this special. She would be the only girl to date the most powerful being in the cosmos._

"_I can do whatever Mike can do, and whatever Mack can do, and then some," he said as he smoothly kissed her hand. "Instant transmission is still a favorite, though."_

_She smiled. Between Mack's potential charm, Mike's actual confidence, and Genzo's own abilities, he had all but won her right there. "Shall we go?" he asked, kissing her hand again._

_She slowly took it, and looked at her watch. "We have five minutes. Instant transmission will get us there early."_

"_I know," Genzo said as he picked her up in his arms and carried her out the door. She began to protest until he flew into the air, and then she instinctively held tighter, her arms gripped tightly around his neck. _

"_Don't worry," he said as soon as she'd realized what she was doing. "My neck is too strong for you to do any damage. No offense, of course."_

_Hannah smiled. She was stunned beyond words. This guy was charming, he was sweet, he was at least as smart and funny as Mike (whom, she had heard, was plenty of both). And he was smoking hot._

_She could feel the muscle in his arms holding her tightly, making sure she didn't fall. His powerful chest was an excellent place to lean against. And, even though the wind was cold in flight, he was very warm. His skin gleamed in the moonlight._

_Hannah liked what she saw, but ventured a question. "What happened to your red hair?" she asked._

"_Oh, I'm sorry," Genzo responded. "I thought the white eyes would freak you out."_

"_No, I think they're kinda cute," she said. That was all it took for Genzo to transform, his Hellfire Saiyan powers radiating out. His aura was very comforting, and negated the cold of the wind, even though he was flying many times faster than he had been. They arrived at the restaurant very soon after his transformation._

"_Oh, geez," Hannah said. "I assumed we were going to the one in town."_

_Genzo shook his head. "No way. I decided on the Madison locale. Better view. Besides, you're more than worth it."_

_Hannah took this compliment in, along with all the others. __Geez, Sarah was right when she told Mike this girl was a bit stuck-up. _But if anyone could bring her back to earth, it was Genzo.

She ordered one of the pricier items on the menu, and Genzo ordered something reasonably priced, but that he found to be delicious.

"So, what made you decide to go on this date with me?" Hannah asked.

_Whirr, _Genzo thought, imagining a cast of a fishing rod. _And in the fishing for compliments pro tour, Hannah takes the championship. _But he played along.

"Well, for one thing, Mike digs you, as I'm sure you figured out," he said. The instant he said it, he knew she hadn't.

"Yeah, it was kinda obvious," she said.

"So, since I heard that you found me to be cute, I decided to see if your soul was as beautiful as the rest of you," he said, leaning across the table.

Hannah soaked this one in as well, smiling and looking only slightly embarrassed. Genzo's face showed a gentle smile, but in his mind he threw his hands up. _Wow, Sarah underestimated this girl, _Genzo thought. _But then again, a lot of people think Sarah's a bitch. Maybe that's why they get along. _

The food arrived very quickly, and the waiter asked if there was anything they'd like to drink. Hannah was about to order a 7-Up, but Genzo stopped her. 

"Bring us a bottle of chardonnay," he said.

"Sir, you're underage. I can tell just by looking at you," he said to Genzo.

Genzo looked at him. "If you can decipher that from what I look like, you should also be able to tell that I'm the one who saved this planet. That should show enough maturity to allow for a bottle of wine. And if it's not," he added, "I'll tip 1000 percent."

The waiter's worry melted away. "Coming right up, sir," he said, hurrying to bring the Saiyan what he asked for.

"Sometimes you have to throw your weight around," Genzo told her with a slight grin. "I usually hate to do that, at least outside of battle, but tonight is special. It's not every day I exist off the battlefield. This may well be my first and final date. I say, let's make it good."

Hannah took all of this in, and Genzo couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was getting harder to feign attraction. No one was _that_ hot.

After the meal, and following a kiss initiated by Hannah, Genzo sat and enjoyed. _Well, _he thought, _I had a few glasses of wine and a delicious meal. And I must admit, she's a pretty good kisser. But I think the charade ends here._

"You came to see if my soul was as beautiful as the rest of me," Hannah said, looking at Genzo with shining eyes. "What do you think?"

Genzo's own inherent arrogance finally got the better of him. _Yup. Now crossing breaking point. Time to show this high-and-mighty bitch what's up. I don't think Mike's gonna be happy about this, but that's too damn bad._

"No," he said flatly. "Not by a long shot."

She immediately pulled away from him, and he leaned over the table.

"You ordered a very expensive dish, ate three bites, did the same with the dessert, and drank half the bottle of wine," he said under his breath. "You drained my wallet, and the whole time wanted me to tell you how wonderful you are. I'm glad Sarah told Mike he didn't have a chance."

Hannah grew angry and indignant. "He _didn't_ have a chance. Why should I lower my standards to date him?"

Genzo stared daggers at her. His eyes flashed white. "To be nice. The same reason I lowered mine to be here with you. But apparently nice isn't your forte, so I'll be an asshole for a while."

However, he was careful to be very quiet. He didn't need to embarrass her here - only at school. _No one fucks with Genzo._

"After I defuse, I'm sure Mike will show up and come get you, so just sit tight for an hour or two until I decide you've had enough. He wasn't asking for marriage, but if you would have at least acknowledged his existence, he'd have been happy."

And with that, Genzo transmitted home, leaving Hannah to fend for herself.

"_You did what!?" _Sarah shouted at Genzo, powering up and slapping him in the face.

"She deserved what she got," Genzo responded after Sarah's hand slid off his face and turned red. Genzo, unsurprisingly, was unaffected.

"Calm down, Mike will go get her," Genzo said as he took off his gold ring. Mike and Mack stood in the room, each holding their own silver ring.

"I'm on it," Mike said before Sarah had a chance to explain. 

"Hannah?" Mike said shyly as he approached the table. He saw tear stains on her eyes - not from sadness, he could tell, but fear.

She glanced at him, then looked back at the table.

"I don't care what you think of me right now," Mike said. "I'm here to take you back home. If you don't want me to do it, that's fine. Sarah knows instant transmission as well."

Hannah looked up at him. "She does?" Hannah innocently inquired.

"Oh, yeah," Mike said. "I taught it to her when we were still dating."

Hannah looked puzzled. "How come?" she asked.

Mike shrugged. "I wanted to make sure she was safe," he said. "Actually, I taught her to do it with almost no energy. If you got warmed up well, you would probably have enough power to do it the way she learned."

Hannah smiled. "That's sweet," she said kindly. "You were that worried about her?"

Mike nodded. "Absolutely. At the time, she was the most important thing to me. I trained her to be even faster than I was, so that she could get outta there if things got ugly."

Hannah looked pleased. "Wow, you're really nice," she said. 

Mike smiled awkwardly and looked to the floor. "Well, it's usually tough to get girls to speak with you unless you're cool, cute, and cut." He confidently grinned, making eye contact. "But back when I was a fat slob, I traded cute, cool, and cut for smart, sweet, and smooth."

Hannah shook her head. "Whatever, Mr. Smoothie," she joked. "Just get me outta here."

Mike took her hand. "Gladly," he said as he pointed his index and middle fingers to his forehead.

"I still can't believe Genzo would do that to her," Sarah said when Mike got back. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

Mike looked sheepish. "The most powerful being in existence. And he _is,_" he said. He looked more serious. "He's a fusion. I don't know what you all know about the show, but all fused fighters are very arrogant. Actually, Genzo isn't bad because most of them are so damn cocky, they get beat. At least he gets serious on the battlefield."

Sarah stared daggers at Mike. Why was the kid defending the man who humiliated the girl he had a crush on? 

"That doesn't give him the right to do that," Sarah told him. "He's not the king of the world."

Mike shook his head. "He could be," he told her. "And he knows that." He sighed. "I know it was wrong. But from what I could see, worlds really did collide when those two met up. You can't act like you're above Genzo, he has a short fuse." Mike smiled. "I don't think you'll be seeing any more of Genzo outside combat." 


	4. Chapter 4: Preparing for Battle

"Mr. Quarkenbrot, are you sure this is a good idea?" the lead technician, Jim, asked. "If your combat robots combine, their power will increase exponentially. With the AI these guys have, it might be too much. You could lose control."

John scowled as he watched the laboratory program attach unification brackets to his three weakest robots. "I don't care. As much power as you can get. Oh, and you know that method we developed to draw energy from radioactive isotopes?"

Jim looked afraid. "Yes..." he answered.

"Take every scrap of radioactive material you can find." He looked at his dinosaur shape shifting robot. "Draw every ounce of energy from it. Build ten reactors. Put one in each joint - knees, elbows, shoulders, and hips. Then take the last one and put that one in the core."

"What should I do with the current power core?" Jim asked.

John rubbed his forehead. "Leave it in there," he said, annoyed. "I said as much power as possible. It won't be as strong as the three combined ones, but it'll be formidable, no doubt."

Jim looked at John. "If I may ask, sir, why do these robots need to be so powerful? Aren't they supposed to help the Saiyans train? They're gonna be too strong to help some of them."

John nodded. "I think the Saiyans are less than pure," he lied. But if Jim here knew that John wanted to earn some respect from the Saiyans, he'd never spend so much money and time on this. But that cocky little punk, who 'got his powers from God', would be taught a lesson.

Technology had replaced God. And the Saiyan brat was about to learn that lesson.

"The deal is off," the terrorist contact told Rachel as he walked into the tent. "I need the men now."

Rachel stared at him. "Why?" she challenged.

"I am tired of waiting for you to choose when we will declare war," he lied as he sat across from her. He was doing an excellent job of hiding it, but he was afraid of Rachel. But, he was a convincing actor. Without her ability to sense emotion, she'd never have known.

"But their training is incomplete," she said, stalling for time. "If you take them now, they might not defeat a mighty enemy."

"You lie," he spat at her. "As we speak, the men are training by dodging bullets and catching missiles without them exploding. They are ready."

Rachel leaned over the table. "What makes you think you are strong enough to control them?"

He scoffed. "I am twice as strong as any of them, and just as powerful as most of the fusions."

Now Rachel laughed. "That's nothing. Even I am not strong enough to hold off Jihad. The reason he obeys me is because he likes me. Tell me," she said as she leaned right into his face. "Have you been good enough to the men that they will obey you, now that they could be stronger?"

The terrorist then fired an eye beam at point blank range, hoping to bore into Rachel's brain and destroy her instantly. However, she blinked. The power in her eyelids was enough to block his strongest eye laser.

"You fool," she said. Then, her eyes snapped open. They glowed a bright red, and small bolts of red lightning danced around her face.

"No," he pleaded. _"NO!!"_

The eye blast she fired at him instantly incinerated most of his body, leaving only his shins intact.

"Hey, Mike," Sarah said when she saw Mike after English class. "Hannah's been invited to run in a 20-kilometer race. She's the only girl in the race."

Mike smiled. "Slick," he responded.

Sarah looked at him. "You think we should go?" When Mike looked at her, confused, she threw in "We need to cheer her on if she wants to win."

Mike smiled. "Sure," he said. "Why the hell not."

Hannah was stretching and warming up for the race when a group of guys walked past her. She smiled, assuming they were here to wish her luck. "Hey," she said as they approached. None of them smiled.

"You should just forfeit," one of them said. "You'll get left in the dust and only be embarrassed. We'll blow you out of the water."

Hannah's smile faded as well. Why were these guys hassling her?

"This is gonna be very bad," he said. "I wouldn't even show my face if I was you. We go much too fast."

Hannah scowled now. _Okay, asshole, you can shut up now._

"You'll never make it," one said.

As soon as they left, Mike and Sarah approached. Mike was a Super Saiyan, wearing a suit of Saiyan armor - a black bodysuit that felt and looked like Under Armour, but was much more tough and also more stretchy - if Mike were able to become a giant ape, like the Saiyans of the anime show _Dragon Ball Z_, the suit would still fit. So would the white boots with a yellow high-impact tip and sole, white gloves that came about halfway up Mike's forearms, and the white and yellow vest that was meant to absorb some very serious impact.

Hannah looked at Mike and shook her head. "It's not gonna work," she said. Sarah had filled her in on how Mike had felt now that he had given up hope, and she was a little freaked out but was now okay.

"Not on you, maybe," Mike said. "But these guys must be real babe magnets, 'cause there are a lot of pretty women here," he said, following a tall, slender blonde. She looked at him, and began to whisper to her friends.

Suddenly, one girl, a short tan girl with dark hair, nudged the blonde. She nudged her back, slightly in Mike's direction, and she ran into a tall, pale brunette. They continued to do so until the blonde tripped over Mike's boot.

She began to fall, totally unaware of the flaw in her friends' plan. She hadn't expected to trip and look like a ditz.

Mike instantly shot below her, and caught her in his arms, kneeling on the ground. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a flirtatious smile.

"I agree - I mean, it's great you weren't hurt," Mike said, smiling back.

Sarah smiled. "Come on, Hannah," she said. Let's get ready for that race."

"You got this, Hannah!" Mike shouted, the blonde on his arm.

"Yeah, girl power!" she screamed, and her friends all cheered, most of whom also had boys on their arms. _But, _Sarah thought, _that blonde is the only one with a Saiyan escort. _The gun went off to start the race, and Hannah started at a steady pace. The others took off, much faster than her. She laughed a bit, imagining what the race will be like after a few kilometers, when they are all exhausted and she would beat all the boys.

After 5 kilos, she hadn't even begun to catch up. When she got to kilometer 10, she realized that they _were_ at a steady pace - just a much faster one than hers.

"Come on, Hannah!" Sarah shouted, flying alongside her the entire race. She had a few boys following her as well, but was paying them no heed at the time.

"Yeah, you'll still win this! Keep it up!" Mike said, flying alongside as well but also carrying the girls with him. The blonde nuzzled Mike, but he was more concerned with his friend getting beaten by a bunch of arrogant, narcissistic, _cheaters?_

He locked onto their energy signals. They were in a car, driving along for the last 10 kilos. Then they would get out, run the last 4 like they ran the first one, and beat Hannah senseless.

"Sarah, Hannah's getting screwed," Mike said.

"I know," she said. "They could have told her she'd need to prepare for this kind of pace."

"That's not what I mean," Mike said. "Lock onto their energy signals."

Sarah did, and her face turned angry. "They cheated!" she shouted. "Hannah, they cheated," Sarah said. "Well, if they can, we can," she said. "Come here, I'll transmit you to the line." Hannah, sweaty and tired, tried to smile at the thought but could only huff and puff.

"Nope, no need," Mike said. "We'll let her run. Just her, and nobody giving her a ride anywhere."

Sarah looked at Mike. "But they're cheating!" she protested.

Mike smiled, and held up a glowing hand. "I said she wouldn't get a ride. I never said she wouldn't get any help."

Sarah smiled.

Hannah couldn't even concentrate. She was so exhausted, and there were still 5 kilos to go. She was mad at herself for not being able to catch up. Then she heard their taunting again, and could almost see their faces. She would do anything to beat them.

"Hey, Hannah!" Mike shouted. She looked at him. What did he want now?

She saw a wave of energy fly from Mike's hand to her chest. She felt better, then great, and then like a Saiyan! She couldn't believe how much energy she had!

Mike smiled. "Go," he said.

With that, Hannah sprinted after them for an entire kilometer, never growing even slightly tired.

_Come on, Hannah,_ she heard Mike's voice ring out. _You can go faster than this and you know it! Don't just use the energy, embrace it. Make it your ally, not your weapon._

Hannah tried to do so, and felt the energy infuse into her. Then, she took off.

She leaned forward, arms stretched backward as though in flight, and her feet pounded the ground. Her stride was huge, at least 10 feet, and she still took about 5 or 6 strides a second.

Meanwhile, Mike got ahead of her, to the car. It had been sitting there for at least an hour. He transmitted in front of it, and stared at the racers, his face set in an expression of disapproval. The guys looked at him.

"Alright, the Saiyan! He's gonna help us out! Give us some energy, man!"

Mike put a hand on the hood. The hand flickered gold, then glowed, then the beam Mike had been charging flew through the engine.

"You cheated," Mike said, wagging his finger slowly, almost threateningly. "Naughty, naughty."

The boys in the car then saw Hannah dash past, and they could have bet money they saw a trail of energy behind her.

"I'd get to running if I was you," he said. "Wait...too late," he said. "She just won."

Sure enough, as they all dashed for the finish line, at about the 1-kilometer line they met her, tape held in hand.

"Hey, guys," she said. "How'd you do?"

They scowled at her, but she just grinned. Mike and Sarah did the same.

Rachel walked out of the tent, toward the barracks. "I am in control now," she announced. "Your former leader challenged me. He lost. Now I will command this army. Your time has come. We will destroy the Saiyan infidels!"

The army let out a cheer of compliance. They would follow Rachel anywhere.

Mike felt a power surge from the Middle East. Then, he felt a wave of enthusiastic emotion.

"It's time," he said as he looked at Mack. He then turned to Damian. "Now you can show us what you're capable of in combat," he said as they headed to the Canadian Shield. They needed an open area to fight, to make sure no one was hurt.

Sarah and Dan flew up next to them. "We're coming, too," Dan said. "Even you guys can't defeat an entire army by yourselves," he threw in.

The Saiyans stood ready, waiting for their greatest challenge.

"Now is the time," Rachel said. "We fly!"

The group all activated a small aura, and flew toward the energy signal of the Saiyans. This was the moment they had all been waiting for.


	5. Chapter 5: An Army Of One

"Okay, it's go time," Mike said. "I can feel them closing fast. Everyone, power up. But save some reserves, too. This is gonna be a long battle, I can feel it."

Everyone transformed, but only into Super Saiyans. They assumed that would be enough to fight these guys. Sure, there were a lot of them, but one superior fighter is usually able to down 5 fighters at half their power, and that's on a very bad day. Everyone was confident.

Once they arrived, Rachel stood in front of the army. "You killed Demonheart," she said.

Mike rolled his eyes. _Not this again..._

"But what goes around comes around," she said with a twisted grin. "My warriors, begin!" she said, standing back.

Mike and the others watched as the group flew into two straight, single file lines. They then stepped away from each other, leaving about 8 feet of space.

"Fusion, ha!" was the chant Mike heard as they performed the Fusion Dance.

The form of fusion taught by Rachel required an intricate dance, that had to be performed in perfect symmetry. The effect was the same as any other method - one single being, with amazing power. However, this form only lasted a half hour. And, once the fusion wore off, another hour was needed to recuperate. The hope was that in that half hour, the new fighter was strong enough to do what needed to be done.

After the first fusion, the new line split into two more single file lines, who performed the Fusion dance again. This process continued several times more, until two warriors remained.

Mike powered up. "These two are all you have? Between all of us, that shouldn't be a problem."

Then, he saw them line up for another fusion. "No," he said and attacked, hoping to stop them. He flew at the two, but before he could prevent the fusion, Rachel fired a Death Beam at Mike. He was forced to pause momentarily, which was all the longer the two needed.

A solitary fighter stood before Mike, and he was an amazing being. This warrior controlled so much power that even without Saiyan blood, his hair stood on end. This guy was frightening, even stronger than Demonheart.

"Now, Jihad, destroy them! Destroy them all!" Rachel shouted, pointing to the Saiyans.

Sarah powered up. "You bitch," she said as she attacked Rachel. Without an opportunity to power up, Rachel was struck with a devastating kick to the abdomen. Jihad flew over to try and save Rachel, but as he swung Sarah transmitted away. Jihad almost destroyed his master, but was able to stop himself.

Rachel grew angry, and powered up. "Bad idea," she said. "Jihad, only concern yourself with the men. The girl is mine."

Sarah then gathered energy of her own. She went Super Saiyan 2, but didn't stop there. Her hair, after flicking backward, grew out. It finally stopped at her ankles. Also, her eyebrows thinned substantially, but didn't disappear completely like they would if a guy went Super Saiyan 3.

Rachel looked surprised. However, everyone except Jihad was also very shocked.

Mike smiled. "Wow, way to go Sarah! You'll tear Rachel apart," he said with a smile.

"No, she won't," a large crowd responded. Mike then realized that the voices that had made up Jihad were all speaking at once.

"Your battle is with us," Mike said to Jihad. "Let Rachel worry about herself."

"No one hurts her," Jihad said as he attacked Sarah again. She dodged everything Jihad threw at her, with a smile on her face. "Never happen," she said. "I'm even faster than Genzo," she bluffed.

_Genzo. _The name sent a chill down Rachel's spine, but only made Jihad grin. "I can destroy him," he said confidently.

Mike shook his head. "No chance," he retorted.

Jihad laughed. "Do you know the best way to ruin a gun?" he said.

Mike shook his head. "Do tell," he said.

"Remove the parts!" Jihad screamed as he flew at Mike and hit him in the face with a dashing punch, sending Mike reeling.

Mack transformed into a Demonic Saiyan and struck Jihad with a flying kick to the side of the head.

Jihad was unharmed, and turned to look at Mack.

"Crazy fool," he said as he fired an energy bolt into Mack's face, sending him sprawling as well.

Mike flew back toward Jihad, now a Ganguro Saiyan, and kicked him in the stomach. Jihad shook his head. "You both are very spirited," he said. "But also, very weak." He then grabbed Mike's foot, and jerked it backward, pulling Mike in for close-range combat. Mike extended his elbow, and it crashed into Jihad's face with all of Jihad's own power, knocking him backward.

"You forgot very smart," Mike said, assuming a battle stance.

As Sarah watched the battle unfold, Rachel kicked her in the lower back from behind.

"I think it's time we ended this," she said as she extended her arm toward Sarah. Her hand snapped up, fingers together, palm facing Sarah. Rachel fired an energy ball at Sarah, who spun around, knocking away the blast with the back of her hand.

"I agree," she said. With her new abilities at Super Saiyan 3, Sarah was very confident as she charged Rachel. Rachel dodged a flying punch, only to receive a heel kick which Sarah executed at the last moment. Rachel was struck in the face, flying backward. Sarah caught up to her instantly, executing a front flip and thereby striking her with another heel kick. Rachel crashed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust and snow.

Sarah stood above her, golden aura blazing. "I remember the last time we fought," she said. "Wasn't the situation reversed?"

Rachel glared at Sarah, eyes filled with contempt.

Dan and Damian both powered up to Super Saiyan 4, and attacked Jihad simultaneously. Dan struck him in the gut with a flying knee attack, and Damian struck the side of his neck with a chop. Jihad smiled, and activated an aura. This sent both Dan and Damian flying, and Mike and Mack tried a synchronized attack of their own. This time, Jihad activated his aura before impact, so Mike and Mack never even touched him. Jihad then attacked with his full power.

Dan was the first victim. Jihad started with a flying kick to the gut, knocking the wind from Dan instantly. Then, a roundhouse kick sent Dan through a small patch of forest, breaking down every tree he struck. Jihad followed the trail of destruction, and found Dan lying in a heap. He clasped his hands together, arms extended, and lightning began to dart around his hands. As an ominous additive, a lightning bolt struck in the distance. Snow began to fall, and Jihad pulled his hands apart.

Each hand had a large green energy orb in it, and green lightning dashed from Jihad's arms to the orbs and back again. They began to glow brighter, and finally, in a flash of light, Jihad brought his hands in front of him, extending them both toward Dan as if trying to reach him.

"Two Gun Woo!" Jihad shouted. A powerful blast fired from each hand, and Dan was powerless to defend himself. The blasts hit, each causing an enormous explosion.

Jihad grinned as a smoke cloud hung over. As the winds blew, however, Jihad could make out a figure standing in the cloud. He was shocked to see Dan standing upright, hands in front of him, breathing heavily. Dan's fingers were extended, his hands coming together to from a diamond shape with his index fingers and thumbs. Six green energy dots were evenly spaced out in front of him, and an energy shield was formed within the perimeter of the dots.

Jihad prepared to fire another Two Gun Woo, But Dan's body tensed. The dots grew brighter, and the shield was easier to see.

Jihad looked at the energy orbs in either hand. The green orbs turned red as Jihad's hands clenched into fists. He flew at Dan, fists stuck out in front of him, and Dan put more energy into the shield. On impact, Jihad shattered the shield, green energy shrapnel flying away from the two fighters.

Both fists struck Dan squarely in the chest, sending him flying through another patch of forest. Jihad felt no energy signal from Dan. His assumptions were assured when the green shrapnel faded away.

He then turned to Mack, and powered back up to full. Jihad tensed his body, arms straight out, raised a bit away from his body. A small yellow dot appeared in either hand. Soon, a large transparent yellow ball formed around each tiny orb. Yellow lightning shot between the ball and the orb within. Mack charged at Jihad, but when he drew near he slammed into an unknown force. Jihad's red force field was now visible, as he put more energy into the orbs floating in his hands.

Mack punched the force field, but nothing happened. He struck it with a volley of punches, then a volley of kicks. After these had no effect, he fired a volley of energy blasts. Each one exploded on impact, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke. Mack continued to fire until he had run out of energy. He stopped, breathing heavily. When the smoke cleared, Jihad stood unscathed. The force field faded away, and Jihad's arms fell to his sides, hands relaxed, the energy still held in each hand. A beam fired from each blast, toward its counterpart. When they met, Jihad extended his fingers. The energy bolo flew at Mack, and wrapped him up, arms pinned to his sides. The orbs spun around Mack, tying him tighter, until they met and exploded.

When the smoke cleared, Mack had lost all transformations. He lay ragged in a heap, unable to defend himself. But it no longer mattered, because his threat to Jihad was gone.

"This is nothing," Jihad said with a smirk. "I thought these Saiyans were actually powerful."

Rachel smiled. "You feel that, Sarah?" she said. "Dan has been pulverized, and Mack has just been put to rest as well. That leaves Damian and Mike, and I don't think they will be enough."

Sarah grinned. "You forget," she responded, "that after I'm finished with you I'll help them out."

Rachel grew angry. "You'll never leave this field!" she shouted as she charged Sarah again.

An unseen uppercut knocked Rachel off of her present course.

"I don't have time for this," Sarah said as she held her extended arm straight into the air. She pointed her finger toward the sky.

"Cosmic Halo!" Sarah shouted as the tip glowed yellow, and she created a large golden energy ring by spinning her finger above her head. She then extended her fists toward and above Rachel, brought them down to point at Rachel, and finally brought them together.

The halo obeyed Sarah's commands, flying over Rachel, then sinking until it was around her, and finally tightening. Rachel's arms were pinned to her side.

"Sarah, what are you doing!?" she demanded. Sarah crossed her arms over her chest in an X, and began to gather energy. She glowed a bright white, and her eyes glowed white as well.

She brought her arms to her sides, and took a deep breath.

"No, Sarah," Rachel begged. "Show mercy, like I did to you when I was stronger," she said.

She could hear Sarah's thoughts. _You never intended to show mercy. You thought I was dead, and you know it as well as I._ Rachel looked on in horror as Sarah sang a high note, releasing her Siren Song attack. At Super Saiyan 3, Sarah's signature attack would have been enough to do serious damage to Jihad. Rachel, being trapped in the Cosmic Halo, was trapped. She formed an energy bubble to try and stop the attack, but it wasn't enough. Rachel was vaporized, destroyed by Sarah's most powerful attack.

Sarah paused briefly to catch her breath. When she actually sang, the attack was much more powerful - but it also caused a heavier drain on her. She flew toward the battlefield to see if she could be of any help.

Damian powered up to full, and latched onto Jihad, capturing him in a bear hug.

"This one's for Mack," he said as he squeezed with all his might. Jihad began to groan, then laughed aloud.

"Then Mack has died in vain," he said as he pulled his arms away from his sides, breaking Damian's grip. He then locked Damian in a bear hug of his own.

As Damian screamed in agony, Jihad smiled. "Simple American, how powerful do you really think you are? You can't defeat an entire army!"

As Damian continued to scream, Sarah flew next to Jihad.

"Let him go!" she shouted, activating the Siren Song. She had positioned herself properly, so that Damian would not be hurt by the attack. Jihad would get the full power of the blast.

It wasn't enough to end the battle, but Jihad released Damian, turned toward Sarah, and fired a breath blast of his own. The two collided, forming a large, swirling ball of energy. Inside the ball, Sarah's pure energy mixed with Jihad's evil power, making a polarity bomb - the unlucky soul who was struck by this attack would not only be hit by Sarah's and Jihad's combined attacks, the energies trying to separate themselves would do even more damage. If Sarah was to lose this battle for power, she was out of the fight for good. If she won, Jihad would be weakened enough for Damian or Mike to finish him off.

As the two struggled for dominance, both putting even more energy into their respective attacks, the ball grew in size. Finally, Sarah decided to try and outsmart Jihad. She fired an invisible blast from her hands while her Siren Song blared on. Jihad was hit in the face by the blast, and staggered.

Sarah used this opportunity to its fullest extent, and sang instead of screaming. Jihad's eyes grew wide as he realized what that would do, and he fired a blast of his own - but he aimed for Sarah's stomach.

The blast hit, knocking the wind out of Sarah. Her attack instantly stopped, and the ball struck her, energy blasting her from all directions as the ball swelled. First the dark energy spent itself, then in the next instant Sarah's own energy attacked her, and finally the ball flew apart, dealing even more damage to Sarah. She slumped to the ground, her hair pulling into her head, aura fading. Her eyebrows returned to normal, and she lost all power. She lay face down in the dirt, unable to retaliate.

Jihad smiled. Now his only concern was Mike.


	6. Chapter 6: Jihad's Folly

_Damian rose, shaky on his knees. He was determined to stop Jihad, no matter what it required of him._

"_Hey, shit-bag!" Damian shouted. Jihad turned and glared at Damian, who was now smirking._

"_Tell me, can you dance?" He asked as he began to break-dance, and Jihad had to admit it was an impressive sight to see. "Wow," he said as he clapped. "But it's really not enough to win many battles, now is it?" he asked mockingly._

"_You never know," Damian said as he flew at Jihad. He extended a leg, attempting a flying kick. Jihad smiled, and stuck out his chin, knowing that the attack would do nothing._

_Damian's foot flashed, filled with energy. The impact shook Jihad to his boots, since he had left no defenses._

"_Dance of Death!" Damian shouted as his other foot was also flooded in energy. He crossed his arms, since they were of no use to him, and struck Jihad with a furious, energized flurry of super-powerful kicks. Jihad was reeling, but Damian refused to stop the onslaught. He knew that if he did, he would most likely die. He continued his Dance of Death as long as he had energy left in his body. However, that amount of time was finite. As soon as he ran out of energy, he collapsed to the ground. _

_Jihad fell over, and struggled to get up. He was amazed at how much power there had been in that attack. Once he rose, he shook off the attack, and walked to where Damian had fallen._

"_I'm impressed," Jihad told him. "I didn't think you had what it takes to harm me. But now that I know you do, I'm afraid you will have to die."_

_Jihad picked Damian up by the throat, and put his hand in Damian's face. He charged an energy ball, and prepared to launch it, ending this little game for good. _

_Mike plowed into Jihad with a shoulder block, saving Damian from the full impact of the attack. However, Damian was exhausted to the point of being unable to stand. He lay on the ground, and slipped out of consciousness._

_Mike fired a blast at Jihad, who flicked it away with his finger. "You can't possibly hope to beat me," he said._

"_I don't know," Mike responded. "I'm stronger than Damian, so maybe after all the damage he did I can find a way to finish you off."_

_He then extended his right arm toward Jihad, fingers spread, palm facing his foe. He placed his left hand on his right forearm, and energy began to swirl into his palm. Soon, a ball of golden energy formed. Once Mike felt he had the blast sufficiently charged, his body tensed._

"_Loose Cannon!" he shouted as a golden wave of energy erupted from the ball, flying toward Jihad. _

_Jihad did the same, except his fist was clenched as opposed to an open hand. "War Buster!" he shouted as a blue wave fired from his fist. The two blasts collided in midair, and Mike's was quickly overpowered, then totally overcome. Jihad laughed as the blast struck Mike. But, oddly enough, it kept flying._

_Mike reappeared behind Jihad, and blasted him point-blank in the back of the head with a Loose Cannon. Jihad screamed out, and was thrown forward by the attack._

_Mike stood, ready for battle, as Jihad rose. He had a few slight bruises from Damian's Dance of Death, and his face appeared to be full of soot from the blast he had just fallen victim to._

"_Your power is amazing," Mike said, back to full power. "But you simply don't know how to fight."_

_Jihad gritted his teeth, and activated an aura._

"_Now, you do have some impressive attacks," Mike said. "And when you do something right, it does a lot of damage. But," he added, "Rachel simply didn't teach you to fight. She powered you up, fused you, and never taught you to throw a damn punch. Or," he threw in, "how to defend properly."_

_As he said this, Mack had powered back up to Demonic Saiyan. He drove one of his knee spikes through Jihad's arm, and Jihad wailed in pain. Mack pulled out his knee, blood covering the tip. Jihad put his good hand over his wound, and in a red flash his arm was healed. But, as both Mike and Mack could tell, he was still much weaker after being crippled - even after he had mostly healed himself._

"_I hate you," Jihad said. "I'll kill you!" he shouted as he charged Mike, and hit him in the gut with his knee. Mike doubled over, and Jihad clasped his hands. They glowed red, and Jihad hit Mike with a double axe handle blow to the back, pounding him into a crater. Another lightning bolt crashed down, and the wind began to pick up. Jihad formed an energy ball with his palm pointed at Mike, and fired. However, the severity of this attack was much greater. Mike was struck with it, and the ensuing explosion blasted debris all over the battlefield. Mike's power dipped to zero, and he lay in the crater, unable to fight._

_Sarah then powered up, and flew at Jihad, hoping for a quick, powerful offensive to finish the battle. However, when she tried to kick him he caught her foot. She reached forward to punch him, and he pulled her in closer, grabbed her breast, and kissed her. Sarah tried to push herself away, but Jihad was too strong. When he was finally done, she slapped him. He grew very angry, and struck Sarah in the side of a head with a roundhouse kick. Blood flew from her mouth, and she crumpled to the ground. She, too, was incapacitated for the rest of this fight._

"_That leaves you and me," Jihad said to Mack._

"_You sound confident," Mack said. "Damian hurt you pretty damn bad, Mike's blast did some damage, and my impaling of your arm also hurt you," he boomed. Mack then laughed uncontrollably. "Now I'm __really_ gonna beat you down," Mack said. 

Jihad laughed himself. "I'll cripple you with one hit," Jihad said. Mack stood, arms crossed. Jihad charged at him, with enough inertia and power to knock Mack out. Mack wasn't fazed, and waited for Jihad to strike. 

The instant before impact, Jihad split into two people. Both of them flew to either side of Mack, and crashed into the ground. As they started to get up, each of them split into two more people. As the four warriors looked at each other, they each split in two, leaving eight fighters. The power of Jihad, once exponentially growing, was now in a state of exponential decay. With each split, the fighters grew substantially weaker. Soon, the army was as it started, except even weaker. The warriors looked so battle torn, Mack almost laughed. 

"Now what?" Mack laughed. "You couldn't have beat me before you were weakened," he said. "Now you're doomed. Your 'fearless leader' was killed, almost effortlessly, by our weakest member. Now you'll all get pounded into the dirt and if you come back, I will kill you all."

"Not hardly," one said with a thick accent. "We will fuse again, and Jihad will defeat you."

Mack crossed his arms again, and stood back. "Feel free," he said with a smile.

The fighters sluggishly got back into their lines like they had, and performed the fusion dance.

"Fusion, ha!"

Mack laughed as nothing happened. A few fell over, most stood back up, a few tried it again - once again, without success.

"Didn't Rachel teach you anything about anything at all?" he said, surprised and a little disappointed. "You need at least an hour before you should even bother to try again. You need to recuperate."

They looked scared. In most cases, they would never believe the enemy but the fusion had just failed. They tried to escape, but were unable to fly with any speed.

Mack easily caught up to the swarm of energized terrorists. He struck each one with a high-impact punch or kick, knocking them to the ground one by one. 

"There. That ought to learn you," Mack said as he gathered up his friends and headed for home.

"So you pretty much wrapped things up once we all got crushed by Jihad, and brought us back here and put us in the hospital?" Mike said after they had all recovered and were back at school.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Mack said. "Actually, I didn't even fight Jihad after you guys got beat," he said.

Sarah looked confused. "What did he do, give up?" she asked jokingly.

Mack grinned. "No way," he said. "The fusion wore off. It took him 29 minutes to beat us all up, and if he'd gone much faster I'd probably be toast as well. But, the way things are now, Jihad is no longer a threat to us."

"We must heal, and regroup!" one of the soldiers said. "No dawdling this time. Jihad will finish off the Saiyan scum, like he would have before if not for us running out of time!"

The rest of the group cheered, having found a new leader. The man who had stepped up to the task beamed. He knew that Jihad would return, and destroy that gray Saiyan that had beaten them after they lost their strength. Not very manly to do something like that. But, soon, he would learn his lesson.

During the weekend, Hannah was walking to a friend's house. She planned to tell her about the little race, how the guys had all cheated, and how she still beat them with a little help of her own.

She saw the clouds parting above her head, and saw that distinctive golden glow. She knew that Mike was up there, probably with that one blonde he'd met at the race. She smiled, thinking that she was the one who'd turned down the Saiyan, the guy every girl wanted. And she had told him no.

But then she flashed back to Genzo, and how he was the one most girls _really_ liked, and how she had played into his little trap and gotten embarrassed. Maybe it wasn't so great to do things just for social status after all, especially at the expense of other people's feelings.

Then, she saw a red aura close in on Mike. She wondered who that could be.

"Oh, shit," Mike said. "Hey Brandi, I have to put you down for a minute, alright? There's gonna be a fight, and I need you to be out of the way."

"Okay, Mike," she said cheerfully, and then embraced and kissed him. He went with the flow and kissed her back as he floated to the ground, set her down, and flew back into the sky. 

"Come on, Jihad! Fight me, if you dare!" he shouted, recognizing the energy signal.

Meanwhile, he used his mental linking ability to find Mack. _Hey, Mack, Jihad's back. Lock onto my position, and get here now. Bring the ring, I don't wanna dick around with this guy again._

Jihad flew before Mike. "Now we will finish what we started a month ago," he said as he powered up.

It didn't take Mack long at all to show up. "Hey, Jihad, remember how you said you could defeat Genzo?"

Jihad laughed. "Of course I can. And now, I'm even stronger."

Mike laughed. "Well, let's see you back up your talk," he said as he put on his ring. Mack did the same, and their fists flew together. Their bodies literally melted into each other, and in a bright flash Genzo stood before Jihad. The battle of the two fusions was about to begin.

"That's not as impressive as I might have thought," Jihad said. "I'm still stronger, even though I'll be the first to admit you're close to where I'm at."

"Oh, dear, whatever shall I do?" Genzo asked mockingly, pretending to be scared and hamming it up to the point where Jihad grew angry.

"Okay, now that I've had a month to learn how to fight, I will tear you limb from limb!" he said, charging at Genzo.

Genzo transformed into a Hellfire Saiyan, his power skyrocketing and well surpassing Jihad's. Jihad stopped dead in his tracks, baffled and worried.

"What was that?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

Genzo grinned mischievously. "You know, I wasn't at my maximum when I first fused. In all honesty, I'm not at my maximum now," he said.

Jihad looked at him, horrified. "You-you're bluffing!" he stammered. Then, he regained his confidence. "Yeah, you're bluffing. You're at your full, and you know it as well as I do!"

Genzo shook his head. _He's got to be taught._

Genzo began to gather power. The sky grew dark, and lightning struck. Genzo began to glow, then pulsate, and finally flash quickly. In a flash that seemed as bright as an atomic bomb going off, Genzo was at his maximum power.

Cosmic rings of energy orbited him, and his eyes were a pure white. His skin shone brightly, and his hair was also very shiny. 

Then, the sky returned to normal and Genzo attacked.

In one hit, he sent Jihad on a flat soar that almost, with the curve of Earth, knocked him out of the atmosphere. He then transmitted into Jihad's path, and sent him back where he came from with a swift kick to he stomach. Once they were outside the city limits, Genzo crossed his arms and looked at Jihad.

"I told you I had more power," he calmly stated. "You didn't believe. So I was forced to prove to you what I am capable of."

Jihad gritted his teeth. "No one is stronger than Jihad! _I am unbeatable!!"_ he shouted out in frustration, and gathered more energy. His power rose dramatically, but was still nowhere near enough to rival Genzo. "I am an entire army," he said. "This can't be happening!"

"It's quality, not quantity," Genzo told him. "Besides, I've been doing this for almost 6 months. You've been at it, what...a third of that time?" Genzo then cracked his knuckles. "But I wouldn't even be here if there were games to be played. So, let's get this over with."

Genzo then struck Jihad in the back of the neck with his heel, causing Jihad's power to drop dramatically. Jihad plummeted like a rock, crashing haphazardly into the ground and bouncing, then finally coming to rest twisted into a strange position. Genzo flew down, grabbed Jihad by the throat, and punched him in the stomach with all his might. The deadly impact undid the fusion, sending a group of people flying out like the pattern of a shotgun blast. Genzo then charged up a Loose Cannon, and decided to go all out. He glowed red, and so did the ball. Small strings of energy wound themselves around the front half of the ball. Genzo charged the attack to the point where it was losing stability, and finally fired the attack.

"_Genocide Cannon!!"_

The golden blast fired with an intensity that no one, including Genzo himself, could have dealt with unscathed. The strings became Genocide Slash attacks, bundled within the Loose Cannon attack. The army of terrorist fighters was shredded by the Genocide Slashes, then finished off by the relentless energy assault of the Loose Cannon.

"My work here is done," Genzo said as he took off his golden ring.

Damian laughed when he heard the story. "Now we definitely got that Jihad guy taken out," he said.

Mack shook his head. "You think so?" he asked sarcastically. "Because he might just come back after every part of every fighter who fused into him has been vaporized."

Mike smiled. Those two were always arguing about something, and it was usually something trivial. But, all the better. They were actually pretty good friends once you broke through the facade of them mocking each other constantly, and fighting together as Saiyans had only made the bond between all of them stronger.

_It's good stuff, _Mike thought to himself. _You need to be close in this group, because where emotion might get you killed in an average battle, in a battle between Saiyan warriors emotions running high could save your life. Also, I'm pretty sure anyone here would take a fall to save anyone else. As much as I hate to admit it, I'd rather that happen than me or Mack get taken down. If one of the others is taken out of the fight, it's obviously bad. But if one of us is, that removes Genzo. And he is absolutely vital to keeping this world around. _

_Most people will pay hell trying to top Genzo. Even other fusions can't hope to measure up. Yeah, I feel good knowing that Genzo is ready to save the world if it comes to that._

_No force on this earth could hope to beat us now._


End file.
